. Move over, Saratoga Springs, Jersey might just have America’s first destination spa, right in Morris County, New Jersey. It’s called “Schooley’s Mountain.”
Who the Heck Was Schooley, and How Did He Get a Mountain?
First things first. Schooley’s mountain wasn’t named after a school, a schoolteacher, or someone particularly good at geography. The Schooley family named it after themselves when they arrived in the area in the early 1700s. Thomas Schooley reportedly purchased some 350 acres in 1714, and his son Samuel later owned the property. Somewhere along the way, the family name stuck to the mountain. Not a bad deal, considering most of us are lucky to get a street named after us! By the 1800s, the mountain had become a fashionable resort destination, famous for its mineral springs, fancy hotels, and visitors willing to travel miles to drink water that tasted suspiciously like rusty nails. Apparently, that was considered a luxury vacation back then.
The Attraction:
Mountain Healing Springs
We get to go way back to the beginning of this story. Back in 1810, Schooley’s Mountain in Morris County, New Jersey, earned a reputation as one of the region’s most fashionable summer retreats, drawing wealthy families and prominent visitors from New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and the southern states. The attraction was an iron-rich mineral spring whose waters were believed to possess remarkable healing properties.
Combined with the mountain’s cool summer breezes, scenic views, and peaceful surroundings, the spring helped transform this rural mountaintop into a thriving resort destination. Grand hotels, boardinghouses, churches, schools, and businesses soon emerged to accommodate the growing crowds.
In 1810, renowned American scientist Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchill described Schooley’s Mountain Spring as “a pure chalybeate water, and has decided medical virtues.” The term chalybeate (pronounced kuh-LIB-ee-it) refers to mineral water naturally rich in iron, while “decided medical virtues” reflected the belief that the water possessed significant healing properties.
This scientific endorsement helped place Schooley’s Mountain among America’s celebrated mineral spring destinations, alongside Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa in New York, Bedford Springs in Pennsylvania, and Berkeley Springs in present-day West Virginia. Like these fashionable resorts, Schooley’s Mountain attracted visitors seeking relief from illness, relaxation, and the restorative benefits of fresh country air. Although many of the medicinal claims were never scientifically established, these mineral springs helped launch America’s early health tourism industry and transformed rural communities into popular summer destinations.
Getting to Schooley’s Mountain
The Drake Stagecoach Line was part of Schooley’s Mountain’s nineteenth-century transportation history, providing an important connection between the rural mountain community and the surrounding region. Operating along the route between Morristown, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania, the line maintained a stop at 18 Pleasant Grove Road in Washington Township, where passengers could board and horses were exchanged for fresh teams.
The Drake Stagecoach Line also traveled along portions of the historic Washington Turnpike, a major nineteenth-century transportation corridor that later became associated with old Route 24, connecting Morristown, Mendham, Chester, and Long Valley with Schooley’s Mountain and communities farther west.
The Morris County Historical Society identifies Zephaniah Drake as a stagecoach operator who also ran a hotel in Chester along the Washington Turnpike, now known as the Publick House.
During an era when Schooley’s Mountain was a popular summer resort destination, stagecoach services like Drake’s helped bring travelers to the area’s celebrated mineral springs and hotels, including the Heath House. Although the identity of the Drake who operated the line remains uncertain, the historic stop is documented in the 1991 Schooley’s Mountain Historic District National Register nomination, preserving a fascinating connection to the mountain’s early transportation history.
“In 1821, a traveler could leave New York City at 5 in the morning, change coaches in Elizabethtown, pass through Springfield, Morristown, and Chester, and arrive at Schooley’s Mountain around 3 in the afternoon. The following day, the stage continued toward Philadelphia. This was a remarkable transportation connection for a rural mountain resort in the early nineteenth century.“
Source: Life in Early New Jersey Vol. 26
By Paul Svinin, from Avrahm Yarmolinsky’s
Picturesque United States of America
Imagine traveling through Schooley’s Mountain, when horses, wagons, sleighs, and livestock were a familiar sight along Morris County’s winding roads. Travel wasn’t always free, and maintaining the roads that connected rural communities, farms, markets, and popular destinations like the Heath House required money.
In 1810, the completion of the Morristown to Easton Turnpike opened the region to more travelers, contributing to Schooley’s Mountain’s emergence as a fashionable resort destination. Together, these developments reflected a changing America, where scientific curiosity, expanding transportation networks, and a growing leisure economy helped transform rural communities into nationally recognized destinations.
That year, the Schooley’s Mountain Turnpike Company proposed a toll schedule to be collected once its turnpike was completed. A carriage, sleigh, or sled pulled by a single horse would cost just one cent to pass, with another penny charged for each additional animal pulling it. A person riding horseback, or leading a horse or mule, would pay only half a cent, an amount then known as five mills. Even livestock came with a price. Driving a dozen calves, sheep, or hogs along the road would cost one cent.
Interestingly, not everyone had to pay. Travelers attending church on Sundays, those participating in funerals, and militia members traveling to or from official training or muster days were exempt from tolls. These exceptions offer a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century priorities, when religious observance, community obligations, and military service mattered enough to warrant free passage.
Turnpikes were essential to New Jersey’s early transportation network, connecting isolated communities with commercial centers and providing access to destinations such as Schooley’s Mountain Springs. But by 1865, the transportation landscape was already changing. Canals and railroads had begun carrying passengers and goods more efficiently, while plank roads had briefly emerged as another popular alternative. By 1857, New Jersey had recognized 23 plank road corporations.
For Schooley’s Mountain, the proposed toll schedule captures a moment when the horse and wagon still played an important role in everyday life, even as railroads were reshaping how Americans traveled. Today, motorists can drive these mountain roads without thinking about toll collectors, horses, or the cost of moving a dozen sheep. But in 1865, a single penny could buy passage through this historic corner of Morris County.
Joseph Heath & Ephraim Marsh
Long before automobiles carried vacationers to the Jersey Shore and the Pocono Mountains, a quiet corner of Morris County was becoming one of New Jersey’s most fashionable summer destinations. High atop Schooley’s Mountain, visitors arrived from New York, Philadelphia, and surrounding communities seeking fresh mountain air, mineral waters believed to have healing qualities, and an escape from the heat and congestion of city life.
Over time, Schooley’s Mountain became as famous for its elegant social gatherings, entertainment, and summer vacations as for its medicinal waters. The Heath House was one of the most celebrated nineteenth-century resort hotels on Schooley’s Mountain in Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey. Historical accounts describe it as a fashionable summer destination that attracted visitors seeking mineral spring treatments, mountain air, recreation, and social activities.
At the center of this remarkable chapter in New Jersey history was Joseph Heath, whose vision helped transform a rural mountain landscape into a thriving resort community. Joseph W. Heath was born in 1762 in Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, when the American colonies were still under British rule. He came of age during the Revolutionary era and eventually turned his attention toward the opportunities emerging in the young nation’s growing economy.
In 1799, Heath purchased approximately 112 acres on Schooley’s Mountain, a region already gaining attention for its natural mineral springs. For generations, the waters had attracted people who believed bathing in or drinking them could improve their health. Heath recognized that these visitors needed more than a spring. They needed a place to stay.
Around 1800, with encouragement from Ephraim Marsh, Heath established a modest boardinghouse known as the Alpha. It was a simple beginning, but one that would help launch Schooley’s Mountain’s celebrated resort era. As word of the mountain’s mineral waters spread, more visitors began making the journey. By 1809, Heath had constructed another lodging building, increasing accommodations to approximately 40 guests. A map prepared that year by visitor Benjamin Howell documented the growing property, including an early bathhouse. What began as a small mountain retreat was becoming a destination.
The Arrival of Ephraim Marsh
In 1816, a young man named Ephraim Marsh arrived at Schooley’s Mountain. Born in Mendham in 1796, Marsh would become one of the most important figures in the Heath House story. Marsh assumed management of the establishment and eventually married Joseph Heath’s daughter, strengthening both the family and business connection. Around 1820, he purchased the property from his father-in-law.
Under Marsh’s leadership, the Heath House entered a remarkable period of expansion. The original modest boardinghouse grew into a substantial resort complex that could accommodate hundreds of guests. By the mid-nineteenth century, the establishment reportedly welcomed about 300 to 350 visitors at a time.
Marsh himself became a prominent public figure, serving in the New Jersey Legislature, presiding over the State Senate, holding judicial office, and participating in the state’s constitutional convention of 1844.
Yet Heath’s lasting local legacy was transforming the Heath House into one of Schooley’s Mountain’s most celebrated destinations. Joseph Heath died in 1825, but the resort that carried his name continued to flourish. Imagine arriving at Schooley’s Mountain during the height of its popularity in the nineteenth century. By the 1880s, the resort occupied approximately 25 acres. Its three-story main building offered guest accommodations and comfortable parlors, while additional cottages and lodging buildings provided room for visitors.
HEATH HOUSE, SCHOOLEY’S MOUNTAIN Springs, New Jersey, the favorite summer resort, is 1,200 feet above the sea, and is unsurpassed in its fine drives and splendid scenery by any place in the country. The spring is a pure chalybeate water, and has decided medical virtues. The house is reached via Morris and Essex Railroad to Hackettstown, and thence three miles by stage. A fine cottage, now ready for occupancy, can be had, with private table, if desired. Refer in New York City, to J. Cave, Albemarle Hotel, or Abraham Smith, Coleman House, or E. B. Coleman, Carrollton House, Baltimore. Rooms secured on application, 5 Clinton Place, New York, or to J. WARREN COLEMAN, Proprietor, Schooley’s Mountain Springs, N. J.
Summer Retreat Era
Grand hotels, boardinghouses, and businesses soon followed, transforming the rural mountaintop into a thriving vacation community. This tradition of attracting well-to-do visitors to the countryside later echoed in the Somerset Hills, where the Childs family envisioned an elegant spring-related hotel destination in Bernardsville, and Pluckemin developed its own spring-related hospitality tradition.
By the mid-1800s, Schooley’s Mountain had become a celebrated summer retreat. Grand establishments such as Heath House and Belmont Hall welcomed hundreds of guests, while boardinghouses, churches, schools, and businesses served the surrounding community. At the center of this thriving resort community were two prominent hotels, the Heath House and Belmont Hall. Joseph Heath’s establishment grew into a grand resort that accommodated about 350 guests, while nearby Belmont Hall, established by Conover Bowne, welcomed another 200 visitors and was later renamed Dorincourt in 1889. Together with a third, the smaller Forest Grove House, the mountain’s hotels could accommodate approximately 650 guests by 1855.
Schooley’s Mountain Springs holds an important place in American history as an early example of the nation’s growing interest in health tourism, scientific discovery, and improved transportation. In 1810, noted American scientist Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchill analyzed the mountain’s mineral waters and declared them “pure chalybeate,” helping establish the spring’s reputation for its supposed medicinal benefits.
Schooley’s Mountain’s fashionable resort era attracted prominent visitors, including several individuals who later served as U.S. presidents. Local historical accounts associate Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Theodore Roosevelt with the mountain’s celebrated hotels and mineral springs. Although more recent articles claim that Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, and Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Schooley’s Mountain General Store itself, we have not located contemporary newspaper accounts, guest registers, photographs, or other primary records confirming those specific visits.
As the 20th century began, Schooley’s Mountain was undergoing a dramatic transformation. The grand hotels and mineral springs that once attracted fashionable vacationers from across the eastern United States lost their appeal. Improved transportation opened new vacation destinations, while changing medical practices diminished the popularity of mineral-water cures. Belmont Hall, later known as Dorincourt, closed around 1911 and was demolished in 1938. Heath House had disappeared decades earlier.
Is Schooley’s Mountain America’s First Spa?
A 1953 Star-Ledger Investigation Made the Case
In its January 18, 1953 edition, The Sunday Star-Ledger published an extensive historical feature by the Rev. Henry Charlton Beck examining Schooley’s Mountain Springs and its claim to being America’s first spa. Beck traced the mountain’s transformation from a quiet rural community into one of New Jersey’s earliest fashionable summer resorts, attracting wealthy travelers, prominent political figures, and visitors seeking the supposed healing benefits of its mineral waters.
The article highlighted the mountain’s iron-rich spring water, its reputation for medicinal properties, and the development of grand establishments such as Heath House and Belmont Hall, later known as Dorincourt. Beck also explored the resort’s connection to General Ulysses S. Grant, its transportation routes, and the eventual disappearance of the once-thriving resort community.
This article is particularly valuable for its effort to recover a largely forgotten chapter of New Jersey history. By 1953, the grand hotels were gone, but the mineral spring, historic buildings, old roads, and local memories still told the story of a destination that had once attracted visitors from far beyond New Jersey.
Last But Not Least, The Historic Schooley’s Mountain General Store
Although the grand hotels eventually disappeared, one remarkable landmark survived: the Schooley’s Mountain General Store, a reminder of the mountain’s once-glorious resort era. The general store was part of this developing commercial landscape, providing a lasting connection between the resort economy and the everyday lives of mountain residents. Click Here for our story about the General Store’s history.
Visit Schooley’s Mountain:
A National Register Historic District
Schooley’s Mountain in Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey, was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1991. The approximately 240-acre district was recognized for its statewide significance as one of New Jersey’s earliest and most successful mineral-springs resort communities. Beginning in the early 1800s, visitors traveled to the mountain seeking the supposed healing properties of its mineral waters, refreshing mountain air, and fashionable summer accommodations.
The district’s historic significance spans 1810–1929 and includes grand resort hotels, boardinghouses, a medical water-cure institute, schools, churches, and Schooley’s Mountain General Store. The original nomination documented 71 contributing buildings and five archaeological sites. Today, the historic district preserves the remnants of a once-celebrated resort destination that attracted visitors from New York, Philadelphia, and beyond.
Bookmark this page and hit the road. We’ve even created an interactive Google map for your visit.
